The Fathom Trust – health and healing through Green crafts

Back in 2020 Jess Tanner worked for Brecon & District Mind as an Ecotherapist leading the Green Minds Ecotherapy Project. Jess now works for the Powys charity The Fathom Trust as an Ecotherapist and Community Gardener.

We spoke to Jess to find out more about The Fathom Trust, and how coming together as a community to craft and connect with nature can enrich lives.

Jess Tanner, Ecotherapist

What is your role with The Fathom Trust?

I lead the six week “Making Well – Health & Healing through Green Crafts” course at The Fathom Trust. Located in Bwlch, Making Well runs four times a year and is centred around the kitchen and cut flower gardens and outdoor craft workshops. We work alongside a local, visiting craft practitioner on every course.

Crafts taught at Making Well have included willow weaving, horticulture, pottery, green woodwork and cob building. Our sessions are rooted in the seasons and our craft practice is very much guided by nature and the growing gardens that surround us.

We’re currently working to build stronger referral partnerships through our local GP surgeries, Brecon & District Mind as well as Credu, who we are welcoming to Making Well for the first time this summer for series of day-long craft and nature-connection workshops. We welcome referrals from mental health teams in the community, and self-referrals are also welcome if people feel the course will benefit them.

Tell us more about The Fathom Trust 

The charity, which is based between Brecon and Crickhowell in south Powys, was founded three years ago by Dr William Beharrell, formerly a trainee psychiatrist and NHS Manager, with an interest in health innovation. Its mission is “to promote physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing using traditional crafts to restore life-giving connections to body, soul, nature and society.” It has lots of new projects developing.

Craftsmanship, Conservation and Contemplation – how do these three aspects work together to support healing?

It's about tending and coming into relationship with all three of these aspects – how we tend to ourselves, others and the landscape around us. By working with our hands; with willow, wood and earth, and through gentle mindfulness and movement practices we come into a practice of noticing ourselves and the world around us. At Making Well we hold nurturing and healing spaces in which to come together as a community to share our individual and collective experience.

How can The Fathom Trust support people who are struggling with their mental health?

We support participants to improve their current health and wellbeing by cultivating skills, friendships and a deeper connection to nature. Our team of experienced practitioners provide a nurturing space for groups to come together, and are on hand to offer the compassion and guidance needed to meet people at their own pace. Our practitioners come from a diversity of backgrounds within wellbeing and craft-making and there is a real sense of collaboration within each Making Well course.

We offer a taster day ahead of each course which gives people chance to meet the team and each other and get a sense of whether the course is something they'd like to take part in. We feel that the taster days are a really important aspect of the course and help people to see what might be possible for them and what they might be able to achieve over the 6 weeks, especially after any long periods of ill health or feelings of isolation. If throughout the day participants find taking part in the group activities a challenge, we have a therapeutic practitioner at Making Well that is able to offer 1-1 walk and talks if needed. Each Making Well course is a closed group which we find helps build a stronger sense of community over a short period of time, and provides a fertile space in which to develop new skills and meaningful friendships.

What happens on the course?

Each session follows the same rhythm of coming together for a morning grounding and contemplative nature-connection practice, followed by small group morning and afternoon craft sessions. Halfway through our day we stop for a seasonal, nutritious lunch which is cooked onsite in our outdoor kitchen. We also weave in time throughout the day for time to reflect and share in our different experiences of crafting and being in nature.

Welcoming new craft practitioners keeps our work growing and evolving. It's great to be able to come into contact with so many different natural materials which often bring about a different set of experiences for those taking part. There are different challenges and moments of insight that can be discovered within each material and craft-making process.

Can 6 weeks make a big difference?

From my own experience of the healing and restorative potential held within nature, and from the privilege I have of guiding and witnessing others through their own experience throughout the 6 weeks, I do believe so. I am reminded of a Mary Oliver poem “When I am Among the Trees” and the constant source of reconnection and sense of belonging that she speaks of that is never too distant, and that through a slow crafting of tending to each moment within us and around us, we can begin to see and experience life in new ways.

We are in the process of creating a new digital story bank at Fathom with the intention of weaving together the many and diverse experiences of the way participants have valued their time at Making Well. Once these are published we will be able to draw upon a much wider range of the depth of experience each course can offer. It's really important for us to keep growing and to know that what we offer here is always in service to our community and to the landscapes we inhabit, so these story sharing opportunities are vital for our continued practice of being able to respond to, and be malleable, within times of change and uncertainty that many of us are constantly adapting to.

Although everything that we offer at Making Well is invitational, it is through participation that we can experience the most benefit, so we encourage and support everyone to take part wherever they can. We don’t see Making Well as an isolated experience and we hold and nurture a space together as a community over the 6 weeks that might help to cultivate new ways of thinking, feeling, and experiencing that we hope will offer little seeds that people will continue to tend to. Tending is a big theme of what we cultivate – tending to the garden, one another and ourselves and the realisation that we are all part of this world. We all share similar stories around our struggles, our fears and feelings of isolation. At Making Well we create a space to share and support one another, and that can offer a huge sense of relief and respite to those that join us.

What impact does this course have on participants?

There is some really interesting evaluation work that has been done on this by the Wales School of Social Prescribing Research in conjunction with several universities. You can read more on our website here.

Heather Dickens, willow weaver

How can people and communities contribute and benefit from The Fathom Trust?

The Trust is trying to grow wellbeing and craft hubs – and also to grow the network of landowners and practitioners taking part across Powys. We have a Crafters’ Café at Brecon Cathedral which is part of Making Well – it’s a drop-in craft café in the Tithe Barn every Tuesday within term time run by Heather Dickens our willow weaver.

The Trust is also looking for other sites to set up more Making Well programmes – with a vision to link each cluster of GP surgeries to a 6 week course, so that the referrals are held much more within our local communities. Currently some people travel from a fair distance and we want to limit that where we can within Powys.

Long-term, funding permitting, we hope Making Well courses will pop up throughout the county. They might be shaped a little differently according to the surrounding landscapes and local need, but each will be anchored in our approach to craft, conservation and contemplation.

Which other organisations are you working with this summer?

We’re also working with Credu (Connecting Carers) over the summer holidays for the first time offering sessions for young and adult carers’ groups.

What are the main challenges of your role?

It’s getting the message out there and reaching people, it takes time but we are starting to build momentum as we strengthen our local partnerships. 

By working outdoors, we also work with the changing weather and terrain, we want Making Well to be as accessible to as many people as possible, so we are constantly looking at ways that we can adapt our offer to suit everyone’s mental and physical strengths and limitations.

We will be inviting professionals to come and join us for an open day to see how Making Well can support those they are supporting. Some of the PAVO Community Connectors have taken part so can then speak about it which is especially useful for those referring in. That’s worked out to be a very natural partnership that we hope to keep growing.

What do you get out of working for The Fathom Trust?

So much. I am always reminded how important it is to come together as a community and how much we all need that and the space to come and share and express who we are in a supportive environment. I get huge joy in sharing the many nature-connection activities we offer, gardening together in groups, skill sharing, and holding space for people – it feels a real honour to do that. Also seeing the difference in people from a taster day to the end of the course is wonderful and the ways that people slowly unfurl themselves and open out to the world around them as the course goes on.

It's such a joy to see how participants on Making Well make each invitation to explore nature and craft-making their own, and take time to tune into nature and themselves in ways they might not have done or had the time to do so before. It's just a great privilege to see the growth that can happen over such a short period of time and the friendships that blossom and how people begin to trust in their own capacity for becoming and being well. We work with the natural world to create a rhythm and a nurturing environment for people to come into, but it’s always about the unique constellation of participants that join us that make each course the healing and regenerative experience it becomes.

When you are not working for The Fathom Trust, how do you enjoy spending your time?

I love to potter, grow and make things. I like to write songs and take long walks with my hammock. In the garden, or under the night’s sky, is where I find my sense of sanctuary.

If you want to find out more about The Fathom Trust, 

you can contact Jess by emailing: jess@fathomtrust.com

The next Making Well session starts with a taster day on 14 September. 

You can sign up on the online referral form here.

‘A place to just be’ - Forest Bathing for everyone

Lucy McQuillan is a Forest Bathing Guide (Mindfulness in Nature) based in West Wales and has been guiding a wide range of groups since 2021. She has a background of 25 years working for National Parks and Wellbeing Projects in community engagement, health and wellbeing in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, the Lake District National Park, and Exmoor National Park. 

Lucy’s final move has been to the beautiful Cardigan Bay, at Aberystwyth, her partner Dave’s childhood home. She started as an Activity Leader with Tir Coed (a charity that connects people with land and woods (tir, coed) by delivering outdoor training, learning and wellbeing programmes across Mid Wales) last year and was asked to run a forest bathing session at Y Plas Garden at Machynlleth this March. We heard about the event and decided to find out more about forest bathing from Lucy.

What being out in nature means to me

Being out in nature is my favourite place. It grounds me, reminds me of what is important in life and generally maintains my sense of wellbeing, for both my mind and physical body. Recognising the massive benefits of Forest Bathing, and loving being in nature, I decided to train as a guide with Nature and Therapy UK in 2020, gaining my diploma in 2021.

What is Forest Bathing?

Shinrin-Yoku, translated as Forest Bathing, is a practice that originated in Japan in the 1980s as part of a national health programme designed to reduce population stress levels. Shinrin-Yoku literally means ‘bathing’ all the senses whilst immersing yourself in the forest atmosphere.

What happens during a session?

During a Forest Bathing session I take you through a number of invitations between 3 minutes to 20 minutes long (simple mindfulness activities). We follow a framework - a beginning, middle and ending - that makes forest bathing 'a practice' and not a general walk in the woods (which of course is lovely too!). 

As with any practice, repetition helps to build a deeper understanding and ability to 'drop in' to your inner self and connect with nature. I intuitively shape the session to reflect the needs of the individuals in the group and the nature setting we are in. No two sessions are the same. An introductory session can be up to 90 minutes long with longer sessions being 2 to 4 hours.

What are the benefits of Forest Bathing - to you and to our natural environment?

You will experience the health and wellbeing benefits from simply 'just being' in amongst the trees and nature. Benefits of this scientifically proven practice include: reducing blood pressure; lowering stress; lowering blood-sugar levels; improving concentration and memory; lifting depression; increasing anti-cancer protein production; improving pain thresholds; improving energy levels; and boosting the immune system with an increase in the count of the body’s natural killer (NK) cells.

…………And leave us with a deep sense of calm that follows us home…..

By experiencing the ‘awe & wonder’ of being in nature this can lead us to an appreciation of the natural world, and our place within it. And this in turn leads us to have a desire to protect and nurture nature.

Machynlleth Forest Bathing 23rd March at Y Plas

5 people were booked onto this session at Y Plas Gardens, Machynlleth. Fresh April showers, interspersed with sunshine and blue sky, set the scene! My helper Carys and I wondered if the weather would put people off…. We waited at the main entrance. People can tell it’s you waiting for them and one person, two and another two soon turned up and introduced themselves. All were new to forest bathing and all were not bothered by the weather one bit and were intrigued to find out what we’d be doing.

As a guide my role is to slow you down and help you stay in the moment and to open the door to your senses. We started by walking to a start point under some trees, dodging another shower.

After a brief introduction of names, and what had brought people to the session, I started with an invitation to leave worries, tasks, ‘to do's’ at this threshold and to enter the woodland/nature space with no expectations, nothing to accomplish, to just lean into what was being offered and see what unfolds. After some simple breathing and sense awareness we went into the first invitation ‘Slow Walking’ taking time to look, touch and listen to what was around us.

After gathering together again, to share what we experienced, (to share is entirely optional) we moved into the second invitation, by the garden, of Human Camera, working in pairs. One partner led the other, whose eyes were shut, to different photo points. By having your eyes closed, when you do open them, to take your photo, the frame before you is intensified and the sense of awe and being in the moment are nurtured.

We then walked over to a woodland area near the garden, which had a completely different, hushed and atmospheric feel, of which all the participants commented on. Here we finished with a 15 minute ‘Sit Spot’ gently focussing on a chosen focus point – a leaf, a piece of moss, bark on a tree – gently bringing our minds back to this simple activity, when they inevitably wandered. The more you look the more reveals itself to you….

By experiencing the ‘awe & wonder’ of being in nature this can lead us to an appreciation of the natural world, and our place within it. And this in turn leads us to have a desire to protect and nurture nature.

Some feedback from the participants included:

“I enjoyed exploring the different ways to immerse yourself in nature and learnt some great new techniques to share with my children and for myself.”

“A great experience to share with others.”

“Lucy’s experience and calm nature and skill share were a real treat – thank you so much.”

The general feedback on the feedback forms was that everyone strongly agreed that they enjoyed spending time in nature and felt connected to nature, and left with a sense of wellbeing.

Many thanks to Lucy for telling us more about Forest Bathing. You can find out more on her website - Forest Bathing & Mindfulness and Facebook page.

If you have a positive experience of interacting with Nature in Mid Wales, please let us know in the comments section below. We love to hear from you!

Wild Skills Wild Spaces – natural ways to wellbeing

Wild Skills Wild Spaces is an innovative partnership project using ecotherapy sessions in the wilds of North Powys to help people struggling with their mental health. Delivered by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, in partnership with Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB), it is funded by the Welsh Government until 2023.

In 2021 the project attracted national acclaim with a prestigious NHS Forest 2021 Award for Engaging People with Nature.

Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's Head of Health and Wellbeing, Carla Kenyon, tells us more about this award-winning project where people are learning new skills, meeting new people and improving both physical and mental wellbeing while making a positive change for wildlife within their communities.

What inspired the Wild Skills Wild Spaces project?

I have an overwhelming passion to connect more people to nature and wildlife so that it is protected and cared for in the future. I also wanted to reach out to people who may not normally connect with nature by offering a health and wellbeing project as I know how nature is so important in helping people. I looked to see what other Wildlife Trusts are doing and visited the amazing My Place project being run by Lancashire Wildlife Trust. It is fantastic and that is what inspired me to bring that concept to Montgomeryshire.

Carla joins a Wild Skills Wild Spaces activity

The benefits of Nature and green spaces on mental health are well documented. What is WSWS’s take?

We often get participants saying we changed their life. Those four words are powerful and that is what drives us. Not only that though, they learn about their environment and wildlife. When they turn around, and point out things in nature to us, then that makes you smile.

The whole connection to and appreciation of life - whether it is human, animal, insect or plant life - is so important. We have had participants go from being hospitalised two or three times a year to no hospitalisation since joining the scheme and actually volunteering in their own time to bird survey or help in other areas. It is so powerful, that non judgemental setting mixed with a great team, and being outdoors really clearly works.

Tell us a bit about the team – characters and strengths

The team is made up of two males and two females who have been trained in delivering to people, who may have complex needs, outdoors. As such they can call themselves Outdoor Psychologically Aware Practitioners. They come from a range of backgrounds including forest school, wildlife trust conservation, National Trust and Mencap the learning disability charity.

I have been very lucky with the team as they just gel and connect with people so well. Mark, who is supported by Jo, runs the youth sessions and just naturally connects with kids. He is very funny and has the ability to be seen as an equal with the children. It is definitely a gift and not something everyone has. He just gives out an energy that is magnetic for the youth we work with.

Jo is warm and gentle and the mothering type figure some kids need. Fran, the project manager, has an amazing skill set from being forest school trained and a passion for nature and wildlife that is her life. Eurig joined us from North Wales Wildlife Trust and has lots of experience of delivering engagement sessions outdoors; his knowledge is second to none. There is nothing Eurig doesn’t know about wildlife and plants.

Who is the project aimed at and how are people referred?

The project is aimed at anyone who needs hope basically. People are referred through primary care - GP / community connectors / secondary care / schools / statutory and we are now open to self-referral.

What does MWT’s version of ecotherapy look like?

Ecotherapy is a word thrown about and applied to any wellbeing activity taking place outdoors but that is not what it is. That is a wellbeing session. Ecotherapy requires trained staff and a programme in place based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing. It requires structure and a thought through plan of activity delivered by trained staff.

Which Wild Skills have proved the most popular and why?

The green wood work proves popular - working with tools that people may have never used before and making things they can take home for wildlife in their gardens or to place on our reserves such as bird boxes or feeders. Also cooking is always popular - foraging within the surroundings for ingredients to make nettle crisps for example. But it is always done with care and people are educated where to cut the nettle so that it grows back for the wildlife.

What is it about these particular Wild Spaces in Montgomeryshire that can impact positively on wellbeing?

As a wildlife trust we are lucky that we have urban reserves that can be accessed on foot. That is a major positive as access is a problem where we live. We can see the fields but can’t access them. However, our urban community reserves can be accessed and are in walking distance of Welshpool and Newtown. This has a huge impact as it means people who may not have known they exist now know and can access them on a weekend or outside the session. They might take family or friends and educate them with what they may have learnt. That gives empowerment and a sense of ownership to people.

What happens once participants have completed the 12 week programme?

They can continue with us by joining a Friends of Group for one of the nature reserves or mentor on another programme.

Wildlife conservation is the MWT’s first priority. How does a project like WSWS fit into the trust’s aims and objectives?

It allows us to diversify and spread the conservation message to a new target market of people. People and youth, who may have nothing to do with wildlife or access nature, are through this scheme educated about the local surroundings and nature.  And they then go home and educate others, so that passion builds.  As David Attenborough says “No one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they have never experienced!"  This is so true! We could do an event with neon flashing signs and the same ole people would attend it and most of those people are already converted to care about their environment. How do we educate others, or find a new target market of people? Through a project like WSWS!

Hopefully then we are spreading the message wider and getting people to care thus leaving the legacy in safe hands.

Also with the participant support we are able to carry out activities under the programme that will increase biodiversity and enhance the reserves.

Why is the project being evaluated by a research team at Cardiff Metropolitan University?

They are evaluating it to produce standards and a framework to help influence social policy in Welsh Government. So it can hopefully be used and adopted by other outdoor third sector organisations across Wales.

What else do you do at MWT to encourage the therapeutic use of green spaces?

We use social media and other forms of communication to help encourage people out in nature. Currently the 30 Days Wild campaign run by the Wildlife Trusts is being promoted. It encourages people to do something connected with nature every day for the month of June.

Other than national campaigns like this we will have other people engagement activities on offer throughout the year depending on project funding and the projects that are currently being implemented, for example wildlife walks.

What have been the main challenges of the project?

The NHS actually referring in if I am honest. Getting referrers to take the time to refer people to the project. Also the time it takes to offer a pick up facility, in hindsight we need an 8 seater driver as part of this project. So in the future we would definitely factor this in to any future funding although that will be challenging as the funding is very scarce. SO, as always, funding is a challenge. We have a proven fantastic offering and to continue this after June 2023 is challenging as we need funding to do so.

Tell us about some of the most rewarding work WSWS has done so far

Working with children from local secondary schools. The demand is huge and the number of children needing help with anxiety and other issues is increasing. Helping and delivering to these children, and seeing the difference it is making to them, pulls on your heart strings. For it to end would be devasting for all. Seeing the children have a safe environment and thrive in a group they feel comfortable enough to make friends in, talk and take part and get enthusiastic about nature is so rewarding.

We have also made improvements to the reserves themselves and put up over a hundred bird boxes which were made by some of the participants. There are too many things to list. But just seeing people connect to nature and care like David A said is what ticks the box as they say! That legacy for us is so important.

Everyone needs a boost to their mental wellbeing from time to time. With your wildlife trust hat on what can you recommend?

Keep it simple, it doesn’t have to be strenuous or complicated. It could be just going outside your front door and being mindful, for example, noticing the clouds, the insects, watching ants, birds…. anything.

It doesn’t need money or financial investment it can just be very simple. Put an apple outside and watch it being eaten, hang it on a tree and watch the birds peck at it. Or just simply visit one of our reserves, if only for 5 minutes, just go for a quick walk around it. That may be enough for some people and will instantly boost mood.

You can even just look out of the window for 5 minutes a day and notice if you see any wildlife in that space of time. Do it again the next day at the same time and see if you spot anything different or the same.

Key words – keep it simple!

Many thanks to Carla for telling us more about this award-winning project. If you want to find out more about Wild Skills Wild Spaces, you can contact her by emailing: Carla@montwt.co.uk

NHS Forest – growing forests for health

 

We recently found out about an amazing project called NHS Forest which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of patients, staff and communities by increasing access to green space on or near to NHS land.

As trees are known to have a positive impact on mental health we wondered if anything was happening in Powys and how we might encourage projects in Mid Wales.

We recently spoke to Miriam Dobson at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, which coordinates NHS Forest, to find out more about the initiative.

What is your role with NHS Forest?

I coordinate the NHS Forest network and our tree planting scheme. On a day to day level, this takes the form of advising healthcare sites on how to use greenspace and nature connection to benefit staff, patients and the wider community; how to improve the ecological quality of NHS sites to help support biodiversity and improve their environmental impact; and coordinating our tree donation scheme – in the 2022/23 tree planting season, we are planting over 12,000 trees at nearly eighty sites across the UK!

How did NHS Forest come about?

The NHS Forest began in 2009 as a tree planting campaign, launched by the “Campaign for Greener Healthcare”, which is now known as the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and is the independent charity that runs the NHS Forest. By 2013, 100 sites had joined the NHS Forest – we now have around 250! Over the course of its history the NHS Forest has expanded from being a tree planting campaign to a nationwide good practice network for any NHS site looking to improve and increase its use of greenspace in healthcare – from tree planting to dementia gardens, to wildflower planting, and so much more.

How does NHS Forest work in brief?

Any NHS site – from hospitals to GP surgeries to ambulance stations – can join the NHS Forest network by visiting our website. We provide advice, guidance and inspiration on all forms of greenspace development in healthcare – whether for environmental benefit, staff wellbeing, use in patient care – or all of the above! 

We collate the latest evidence and resources on green spaces and health to provide an easy to use resource database on our website to help educate people on the benefits of green spaces. If a site has a project in the pipeline or plans to develop a green space, and wants to chat through or hear about other hospitals that have done similar projects, they can get in touch and we can advise and connect them with others in the network. 

copyright Claire Blakey all rights reserved

We also still offer our flagship tree donation scheme where sites can work with us to develop tree planting plans and receive free saplings for planting in the tree planting season which runs from November to March every year. 

We also do other work on green spaces, particularly with our Nature Recovery Rangers, who are full-time members of staff embedded at hospitals to conduct a programme of environmental work to green hospital grounds, improve support for biodiversity, and run activities for staff and patients on nature connection and spending time outdoors. 

We also run an annual conference and awards scheme and produce a bimonthly newsletter full of the latest inspirational news on green space work across the NHS, and a course on Green Space for Health to help people learn about the links between nature and health and begin developing their own projects.

How can people – patients, staff & communities – use their NHS Forest?

The variety of ways that people use their NHS Forest trees, or indeed the wider network, is seemingly endless! 

We have sites who have planted coppice woodlands for use in therapeutic woodworking classes, whilst providing habitats for wildlife and creating a beautiful walkway amongst the coppice willow woodland. Another site has used the NHS Forest tree donation scheme to replace damaged or dying trees in a native woodland in the Cairngorms that is adjacent to their site and has a beautiful walkway and benches where staff and the community can take time out and relax. We have also planted orchards for fruit provision, and standard trees to provide shade in open spaces. Another site has worked with the local council to plant trees along a river bank in a nearby green space, which will help with drainage and flood prevention as well as beautifying this area that is enjoyed by staff, patients and the wider community.

What is the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare?

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare is an independent charity and think tank offering strategic input and consultancy on sustainable healthcare research and practice to national and local programmes. We work across the health system, from carbon footprinting, to sustainable surgical practice, to Green Plans and our expansive green space programme, of which the NHS Forest is part.

The benefits of trees and green spaces on mental health are well documented. What feedback have you had about NHS Forest projects?

Our projects bring a huge spectrum of benefits to staff, patients, the wider community and the environment. We have had a wide range of positive feedback, from the hospitals where our Rangers are placed talking about a whole shift in culture towards focusing on the outdoors and nature connection in daily activities such as having meetings outdoors. 

One of our NHS Forest sites also recently wrote the following feedback: “We have been working alongside the NHS Forest for 8 years. A partnership working approach has enabled the service to transform the once scrub land into a beautiful tranquil green space that benefits the local environment and the people who access the space. Without the NHS Forest support this would not have been possible. The service has benefited in excess of 2,000 people over the last 8 years and we hope to increase this in 2022 by introducing a lovely outdoor woodland area connected to the growing space for more community involvement and therapeutic value.”

Wild Skills, Wild Spaces project in North Powys

Tell us about any NHS Forest projects in Powys

In 2021, a project in Powys won the NHS Forest award for engaging people with nature. This was Wild Skills, Wild Spaces – run by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with Powys Teaching Health Board and Cardiff Met University. The project engages adults and young people in ecotherapy to empower people who would not typically engage with outdoor activities or prescribed therapeutic interventions. They provide free, inclusive and accessible sessions at local nature reserves, including bushcraft, food growing, and other outdoor activities. Over 50 people are currently engaged in the project. 

How can we encourage more NHS Forests in Powys?

By spreading the word and inviting people to join the network!

Tell us about a particularly inspirational NHS Forest

“Come Grow With Me” is the name of the community garden at Highbury Hospital in Nottingham, which immediately demonstrates the welcoming nature of the garden. Highbury Hospital offers Adult Mental Health Services (amongst others) in the city and set up the community garden in 2016 originally.

Food growing is at the heart of the Highbury project. Each hospital ward has its own designated raised bed, and all the participants have access to the communal shed, greenhouse and fruit trees. Other garden features include a no-mow zone and a wildflower meadow. The sensory planting area and herb circles ensure that rich aromas float around the spaces, while a garden wall screening the nearby road creates an enclosed sanctuary. Picnic benches occupy a central area, while more private seating is provided in relatively secluded corners of the garden. 

Every year the garden participates in the community arts festival, on one occasion turning the whole space into a gallery with artwork all the way around. It’s an inspirational example of using green space for therapeutic healthcare but also for celebration, community and the arts.

What are the main challenges of the role?

Keeping up with the incredible demand for trees and green space advice takes up most of my time, and it’s always disappointing if we run out of trees to match demand for the year! However, that’s just more reason to try harder to get more trees sponsored, and make more connections throughout the environmental sector, to ensure that we can provide as many saplings to as many NHS sites as are in need of them, whilst providing high quality bespoke advice to anybody who needs help in developing their green space ideas.

Tell us about some of the most rewarding work you have done at NHS Forest so far

It’s been fantastic coordinating our tree planting for the current season. A long summer and autumn of working with nearly eighty sites around the UK developing plans from planting seven to one thousand trees – so much variety! We’re planting around 12,000 trees this season which is the largest number that’s ever been planted by the NHS Forest in a single season! And now we’re into the tree planting season, it’s been so rewarding to see them be planted and hear about the wonderful projects that everyone’s been doing with volunteers in the local community. Seeing the photos and hearing about the joy the trees have brought people already is fantastic and really rewarding.

When you are not working for the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, how do you enjoy spending your time?

I like to practice what I preach – so you can usually find me outside. I live on the edge of the Peak District National Park where I enjoy going climbing, fell running, swimming and cycling!

If you want to find out more about the NHS Forest initiative, you can contact Miriam by emailing: miriam.dobson@sustainablehealthcare.org.uk

Green Minds Ecotherapy Project - South Powys

by guest author Jess Tanner

Green Minds is Brecon & District Mind's new Ecotherapy project which launched this winter. As a fledgling project we are in the process of developing a range of nature-based initiatives that are rich in social and therapeutic value, and aim to reduce social isolation and increase the quality of life for our group members and the local community.

Our project's aim is to help our members to build a stronger connection and sense of belonging to the local environment by exploring the local landscape through mindfulness and nature-connection walks. The project will also help people to create new links within the local area through volunteering roles, and provide opportunities for our members to build self-confidence, self-reliance and new skills.

Our activities are currently taking place at Brecon Cathedral where our project is working towards the design and development of more wildlife friendly planting within the garden areas of the cathedral grounds. We have also started work within a walled garden in Brecon this month, preparing the polytunnel for the seed sowing ahead.

We also have lots of woodland mindfulness walks and craft activities coming up over the next few months. These include willow weaving workshops led by a professional basket maker as well as a bird box making session as part of February's national bird box making month.

We are now open to receive new referrals from within the community for those that feel being part of the Green Minds project will be of benefit to them. Please get in touch for more details.

When asked what mattered most to our members after the Green Minds' sessions their responses were:

“Working with other people and being able to see the end result. I feel less worried, being outside helps clear your mind.” - Sarah

“I felt uplifted when we took a step back and looked at the results of our graft. It's good to interact with others and be outside doing something good.” - Rich

Jess Tanner - Project lead biography

As well as working for Brecon & District Mind as a Community Wellbeing Support Worker, Jess leads the new Green Minds Ecotherapy Project, delivering horticultural therapy and community gardening activities for adults. 

Her background includes working within the creative arts therapies, outdoor education and life long learning. Jess undertook her horticultural training over a one year WRAGS placement (Women retraining as a gardener scheme) in the Black Mountains and also holds an Award in Social & Therapeutic Horticulture with Thrive. 

Jess is passionate about facilitating opportunities that help people to access gardens and green spaces and build stronger relationships with the local area and surrounding landscapes.

Emma Charles - Co-project lead biography

Emma is a Nature Based Facilitator offering ecotherapy and social and therapeutic horticulture in and around the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains. 

Her background is in social care provision, having worked in the third sector for over 10 years. Emma has recently joined the Green Minds Ecotherapy Project and her hope is to raise awareness of the importance of the natural world on our mental and physical wellbeing, and to bring people into a closer relationship with their natural selves whilst cultivating a deeper sense of appreciation for the beautiful environment they live in here in the Brecon Beacons.

You can find out more about the Green Minds Ecotherapy Project by contacting Jess Tanner at Brecon & District Mind, email: Jess.T@breconmind.org.uk or ring 01874 611529. Jess works Wednesdays and Thursdays.